Tan, former deputy president of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) which pulled out of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in September last year, was partyless for almost nine months until he joined Gerakan, a peninsula-based BN component, recently.

Musa said Tan, who had held the infrastructure development portfolio, would now be minister of industrial development, taking over from Datuk Ewon Ebin who has been appointed rural development minister.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who had held the rural development portfolio, has been appointed infrastructure development minister, Musa told reporters after chairing a meeting of the State Cabinet, here.

Musa also announced the appointment of Merotai state assemblyperson Pang Yuk Ming as assistant minister of infrastructure development, replacing Datuk Michael Asang who has been appointed assistant minister of industrial development.

Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid, who was assistant minister of industrial development, has been appointed assistant minister of resource development and information technology, taking over from Donald Peter Mojuntin who has been appointed assistant minister of finance.

The portfolios of the other ministers and assistant ministers remain unchanged. Musa said the appointments were made after getting the views of the leaders of the BN component parties and the agreement of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“With the new Cabinet line-up, our agenda of giving priority to the people remains and we will continue to focus our efforts on working more and talking less,” he said.

Musa said he hoped that Tan’s position in the cabinet would no longer be politicised, a matter which according to him was a waste of time and did not bring any benefit.

“Much remains to be implemented in terms of development which surely demands the commitment of the leaders and the undivided support of the people to bring success,” he said.

Musa called on all leaders to pool their resources and cooperate to improve the lot of the people and develop the state.

On the position of Datuk Japlin Akim whose Umno membership was suspended for three years by the party’s disciplinary board, Musa said he was still assistant minister of infrastructure development. — Bernama